As Rajasthan Royals turned pink, many of
our players celebrated with some significant performances around the globe. Ranji
Trophy final, the tussle for the knockouts in the Big Bash League, India-New Zealand
T20Is and England’s fightback in the third Test against West Indies – the last
week was quite fruitful for many of our Rajasthan Royals stars. Let’s take a
quick recap of how the boys contributed and stood out.

Unadkat’s
all-round skills

Saurashtra were playing their third Ranji
Trophy final, against defending champions, Vidarbha. Jaydev Unadkat had
recently taken over the team’s captaincy, after Jaydev Shah retired mid-season.
With great responsibility, came some stellar performances in the lead-up to the
final. Encouraging Saurashtra to play an aggressive brand of cricket this
season, Unadkat bowled exceedingly well in the first innings and claimed three
wickets in the process; including that of 10-time Ranji Trophy winner, Wasim
Jaffer.

When it was Saurashtra’s turn to bat, many
of their batsmen faltered and it was left to the lower order to take the total
to touching distance with Vidarbha’s 312. Batting at number 10, the skipper put
a price to his wicket and scored a gritty 46, helping his team put on 60 runs
for the final wicket. Saurashtra fell short of the target set by Vidarbha, but
Unadkat was very proud of the way his team fared this season. “The brand of
cricket we played and developed this year has been special. The difference
between what we lost when we lost the last couple of finals and this final was
obviously the fight we put up. This special bunch of players has really done so
well and has the capability of winning the title.”

Archer
stalls Renegades’ chase

A win against Melbourne Renegades would
mean that Hobart Hurricanes would reserve a semi-final at home. After posting
183 on the board, it was Jofra Archer’s turn to have a crack at the Renegades
batsmen. He claimed his first wicket in the second over, and returned later in
the innings to ensure that a late surge by Renegades’ middle-order didn’t cost
dearly for the Hurricanes. Archer claimed another wicket and returned
outstanding figures of 2/19 off his 4 overs. He was the only Hurricanes bowler
to concede under 6 runs per over in the game.

Royals
duo revives England

England’s touring party were at the
receiving end of some quality bowling by the West Indian quicks. After being
put in to bat, England were in a spot of bother at 107/4. The fourth wicket
brought the Rajasthan Royals pairing of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes together.
They put on 125 valuable runs for England and guarded the rest of the batting
line-up against a possible collapse. Buttler ended up scoring 67 runs, while
Stokes put up a patient 79 on the board. Their contributions may end up being
the difference between the two sides, after England bowled West Indies out for
just 154 in the first innings, as England push for a consolation victory in the
third Test.

Ish Sodhimakes a mark in first T20I

In a steep pursuit of 220, India were
struggling with their top order not converting some of their starts. In the 11th
over, Ish Sodhi dismissed two of India’s destructive fiishers, Dinesh Karthik
and Hardik Pandya. The twin strikes all but sealed the game for the Kiwis, who
went on to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series.

India’s tour of New Zealand and the Ranji
Trophy may have come to an end, but there’s more cricket lined up over the next
few days. Archer will look to give Hurricanes the perfect start and finish with
the ball, while our captain, Ajinkya Rahane and Krishnappa Gowtham will take part
in the Irani Trophy for the Rest of India team against newly crowned Ranji
Champions, Vidarbha. Many of the young guns in Rajasthan Royals will prepare
for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, while some of the overseas players will look
forward to the Pakistan Super League, the final T20 tournament before the VIVO
Indian Premier League gets underway on March 23rd.

The Royals brand stands for resilience, commitment, intensity and a never-say-die attitude. With roots in the culturally rich state of Rajasthan, the Rajasthan Royals are impassioned by indomitable qualities of strength, courage and fighting prowess which personify the brand. Rajasthan Royals, the brand itself identifies with the distinguished qualities of elegance, style, valour and class which are synonymous with the culture and people of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan Royals is born from the commitment to entertain cricket fans and unearth new talent across the globe, predominantly in India. The Royals, ever since their inception, have been in the forefront in terms of nurturing and promoting new talent. These qualities have made the Rajasthan Royals one of the most loved teams in India.